(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a decoder for variable-length codes of the type used in data transmission, facsmile transmission, etc.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Variable-length codes are code signals, the numbers of bits of which are not constant. For example, they are codes for reducing the average number of necessary bits in the case of encoding information by converting a code of high frequency of occurrence into another code having a small number of bits and a code of low frequency of occurrence into another code having a large number of bits.
Such variable-length codes have the advantage that information can be transmitted in a smaller number of bits. In the case of decoding consecutive time-series code signals, however, a circuit for discerning the breaks of the respective codes is required. In general, therefore, the circuit arrangement becomes complicated. For this reason, there have been very few decoders for decoding code signals in which the number of bits constituting each code is quite free.